Even Christians who have enjoyed seasons of assured confidence of their right standing before God can and do have their assurance of faith shaken. At such times, they feel the ebbing and flowing of their assurance. The loss of assurance …Read More

We see it everywhere. From bumper stickers to billboards, from T-shirts to tattoos, from old faded church signs to spray-painted signs along country roads—John 3:16 is everywhere. As such, some Christians have become complacent about the simple truth of John …Read More

Over the years, I’ve had opportunities to teach systematic theology in a variety of settings, from seminary classrooms to university courses to Sunday school classes in the local￼ church. But no matter where I’ve taught systematics, the first place I …Read More

It’s a thrilling episode—Martin Luther, standing before the Diet of Worms, the only faithful Christian in his day, proclaiming his God-given right to read the Bible however he saw fit: “Unless I am convinced by my self-determined understanding of Scripture, …Read More

Roman Catholic theology is noted for the emphasis it puts on tradition, which is placed alongside Scripture as an equally authoritative stream of revelation. The Reformers rightly rejected this view and emphasized sola Scriptura as the church’s only infallible authority. …Read More

Tabletalk: Your book An Unexpected Journey describes how you discovered Reformed Christianity. Please describe why coming to believe Reformed theology was an “unexpected journey” for you. W. Robert Godfrey: My journey to Reformed Christianity was unexpected in that I was …Read More

The Reformation churches have some wonderful slogans that are chock full of important truths. Sometimes, however, these slogans can be misconstrued, misreported, and misunderstood. With the possible exception of sola Scriptura (by Scripture alone), none of these slogans has been …Read More

Most Westerners have forgotten their Latin, if they ever knew it. If they’re not careful, therefore, they may confuse the Latin motto ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda with the U.S. Marines’ motto, Semper fi. There could be worse things. For the …Read More

The phrase ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda (the church reformed, always reforming) has been used so often as to make it a motto or slogan. People have used it to support a surprising array of theological and ecclesiastical programs and purposes. …Read More